Rulings Not Rules #4 - Delayed Actions

Has this ever happened to you? You turn to a player and say, "It's your turn, what are you doing?" In return you get perhaps an uncertain look, maybe even a sheepish smile, and a request, "Can I delay my action?"

Listen folks, I don't if this happens to you a lot, and I don't know if it bothers you, but I have a low key hatred of delayed actions. Now, don't get me wrong, there are times and places where it makes sense. Ambushes are essentially all about delaying your action until the mark is in place, and I am fine with that, but when combat is rolling delayed actions bother me in a way I find difficult to articulate. Maybe it's the fact that combat in most RPGs is based on rounds that are around 10 seconds long (though obviously there is variation in both directions). Or maybe it's the indecision that seems to come with the request, when, in fact, the character and player both should be in action mode. 

Regardless as to why I dislike them I suspect that it will never be a problem that goes away. As such it's a problem I need to solve for myself for games I run. Specifically I mean for Dungeon Crawl Classics (and related games) which I tend to be running more often these days, and in DCC there is no specific rule for (or against) delaying actions. 

Rulings not rules, right?

So, then, how do I run delayed actions? 

1) Specify the action.

You can't just delay your turn without a plan, combat just is too fast and as we all know initiative is just a means for us to adjudicate things are are really happening basically simultaneously. So the first thing I need is a specific action. What is the thing that will happen? An attack, a move, a spell ... it must be specific with a target and...

2) What is the trigger for the delayed action?

I don't allow a delay without a clear trigger. Maybe you are delaying an attack on the big bad until the cleric blesses you. Or you are delaying a charge until the thief opens the door. Or delaying a fireball until the end of the round so the other players can get out of the blast area. 

3) (optional) A cost for the delay.

I have only just started thinking about this but I am leaning toward pushing the delaying character's initiative on future rounds to the step where they act with the delayed action. If you roll a new initiative every round you might penalize that character a die step if you wished. Alternately you could do nothing. Characters who delay tend to have higher initiative values and if they are quick to react in that combat maybe that's just fine. 

That's all. It's nothing complex but it prevents waffling, and it ensures that the action can move forward quickly. Combat is fun but it shouldn't take up the entire session and keeping it moving quickly is one of my biggest goals as a judge.